When I began as a teacher, I listened to advice from veteran teachers and from books geared toward new teachers.  I developed plans and lists and lists of lists and plans for more planning.  While much of the advice felt helpful, there were certain ideas that turned out to fail miserably, mostly because they seemed designed to transform me from teacher into drill master.  The following are five misconceptions I had about the first day of school:

Misconception #1: Don’t Let Them See You Smile Until December
I tell a few jokes and smile a great deal the first day, which has a real disarming effect.  Instead of seeing me as an easy target or a doormat, students feel comfortable.This helps increase motivation while reminding students that there is a time for laughter and a time to buckle down and work.

Misconception #2: Begin with Rules and Procedures
I’m not against this idea of procedures, but I think it works best when we start with the concept of “community rituals” rather than rules. I use a chart with questions (for example, “Can I use the restroom?”) and grouping (individual, partner, small group, whole class) and answer the questions…

The movie theater is crowded in anticipation for an inspirational escape.  Holding buckets of greasy popcorn and carbonated corn syrup water, they begin to believe in the magic of the cinema. It doesn’t matter which film they are watching, the story arc is universal – a white woman goes into a ghetto and fixes the lives of poor, black kids.  She plays the role of a savior. She’s a Silverscreen Superteacher, like Superman without the tights of ability to fly. (Though she does have a soul-search x-ray that allows her to know students intimately within minutes of knowing them)

It’s the Hollywood prototype, as make-believe as an action movie, but more subtle in its deception.  Based on a “true story” it lacks the vitality of life.  Sure, the voice is magnified, the actress well-dressed and the folks on screen playing a magnificent game of pretend.  Yet, it’s all a vapor, a play of light and sound.  It’s bread and circus. However, it’s also our cultural mythology.  It’s the story we tell about what makes a “good teacher.”

The true story?  All of these Silverscreen Superteachers burned out.  They lasted a few years and then left teaching altogether. They…

I want to be authentic in how I teach, in how I live and in how I write.  As an eighth-grade teacher in a low-SES school in Phoenix, Arizona, authentic learning has meant filming documentaries, painting murals, participating in community service and writing a blog called Social Voice .

I’ve taught middle school in the Cartwright School District for six years. I have taught both seventh and eighth grade social studies, computers, reading intervention, math intervention, writing and now self-contained. For four years I’ve had 1:1 computer to student ratio, starting first with using really old computers on Linux and now using netbooks. I run a co-cirricular program called Project Impact where we do service projects and use a tech-integrated framework for the service learning.

On my journey toward authenticity, I make many mistakes. I want to be open about the fact that I don’t have a solution or a magical formula (hence the tagline on my blog “musings from a not-so-master teacher”).  What I offer are my thoughts on teaching and life – whether these are pictures or videos or podcasts or blog posts.  I’ve written two books Sages and Lunatics and Teaching…